Meth bill concerns pharmacists

Proposed state legislation calling for tighter controls on the sale of certain cold remedy drugs would put a major dent in methamphetamine production, the bill's sponsor says.

But a pharmacy group has concerns that the bill would create a paperwork burden on its members.

A bill proposed by Rep. Joan Brady, R-Richland, would require that all stores -- from pharmacies to convenience stores -- place drugs containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as its sole active ingredient behind sales counters.

The compounds, found in certain over-the-counter cold remedy and decongestant drugs such as Sudafed, are used to produce methamphetamines, law enforcement officials say.

Under Brady's bill, customers could buy the restricted items only after presenting photo identification and signing a log listing their name and address. The logs would be provided to the State Law Enforcement Division.

The bill, first introduced last year, passed the House this month and is now in the Senate. Similar legislation passed last year in neighboring North Carolina and Georgia.

"This legislation will especially curtail the smallest producers," Brady said Monday. "We have a proliferation of small meth labs."

Law enforcement agencies raided 245 meth labs in South Carolina from Oct. 1, 2004, to Sept. 30, 2005, and 254 labs the previous fiscal year, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Brady said while her bill is targeted primarily at small labs, it also could discourage large operations by limiting purchases.

Jeff Moore, executive director of the S.C. Sheriff's Association, said Monday his organization is "in full support" of the bill.

"We think it's an important tool in the fight against methamphetamines, which is an ever-growing problem," he said.

But Jim Bracewell, executive vice president of the S.C. Pharmacy Association, said although his organization supports the intent of the bill, it would create "another layer of record-keeping."

"We think it perhaps can be improved," he said, adding many pharmacies already are voluntarily restricting sales of the drugs in question.